A Brand New Beginning
by JustAnotherBlondeWriter
Summary: Joel & Ellie have finally made their way back to Tommy's after their run in with the Fireflies. Ellie struggles to accept what has happened, while Joel struggles to make a home for him and Ellie. But even the dam has its dangers & the two of them must not only build trust with other people, but rebuild their trust with each other. JoelxOC ElliexOC M for later chapters and Ellie
1. Chapter 1

Summer was just making its presence known by the time that Ellie and Joel made their way back to the hydroelectric plant Tommy's wife Maria and her father had turned into a safe haven. It was mid-afternoon when they finally reached Jackson County. They'd gotten an early start and Joel was more than a little surprised they'd made such good time. Standing on the edge of cliff that overlooked the makeshift homes, Joel was happy to see that the place was still going strong and hadn't fallen. From the looks of it, electricity was still very much up and running and, if his memory served him well, they'd seemed to expanded since the last time they'd been there. More homes, albeit small, had popped up. The man couldn't help but wonder just how many families were living there now.

Next to him, Ellie shuffled her feet around on in the grass. The last couple of weeks had been hard on her. He could see the way her light blue eyes were constantly clouded over with thoughts. Killing the cannibalistic bastard David so violently had taken quite the toll on the young woman. Added with the 'news' that the Fireflies had given up hope of finding a cure, well, her moral had taken a hit. She was slacking off, getting distracted and never seemed happy anymore. Needless to say, the behavior had Joel concerned for more reasons than one. Hopefully, with the promise of a new, much more permanent home, she'd get out of the slump she'd been in. Start living again.

"Hey," he said gruffly, nudging her. "You good?" He asked, eyes carefully taking her in as she turned to look up at him.

A careless shrug fell off her shoulders and she gave him a half-assed smile, "Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

Joel didn't believe it, but he didn't push the subject. Instead he gave her shoulder a firm pat. "C'mon, let's get inside and see what's going on. Bet they've got food for us to eat." Breakfast had been skipped, seeing as their supplies were running rather low. They didn't want to risk running out before they got back to Tommy's.

Repositioning her backpack, Ellie nodded and headed down the hill in silence. They stayed that way for a while until they finally came up on the compound and got the attention of one of the guards. It didn't take long for Tommy's head to pop over the side of the wall and he grinned down at the duo. "Yeah, these two are clear. So long as the little one don't run off with one of our horses again," he teased. It brought a genuine smile to Ellie's face, for which Joel was thankful.

When the doors swung open, they two entered and were greeted by Tommy and a pregnant Maria, both of which were smiling. "I see you wasted no time," Joel commented, his words directed at growing bump that was Maria's belly. "How far along?" He asked.

The couple grinned, "We actually found out about a week after you left." Their fingers laced together as Maria spoke again, "Only about five months."

Stepping forward, Ellie's eyes were alight with excitement. "Holy shit," she muttered. "I've never seen a pregnant woman before. Can I touch your stomach? Does it kick yet?"

"Ellie..." Joel warned, but his words were brushed away by the older woman.

She nodded, "No, go ahead! He kicks every so often, but sometimes he gives me a break." As Ellie reached out to touch the bump, both woman jumped at laughed as the baby within give a good hard kick, startling them both. "There you go! He likes you already."

"So you're thinking it's a boy?" Ellie asked, smiling as she removed her hand.

Maria nodded. "I think so, yeah. But I'm not a hundred percent sure just yet, but I've just got this feeling." Looking at the two men, she smiled at Ellie. "How about we get something to eat? I'm eating for two now and let me tell you, this little guy eats more than his father." Chuckling softly, the two left the brothers alone.

Tommy's gaze was immediately on Joel. "So what happened?" He asked, shoving hands into pockets. It was more than apparent he'd been waiting for this day, wanting to see what was to come of their run-in with the Fireflies.

Part of Joel wanted to tell Tommy, to relieve himself of the burden at least a little. But the more he'd thought about it, the less he liked the idea. There were so many different ways Tommy could react and the last thing he wanted was to add another rift between the two of them. Or risk Tommy telling Ellie the truth. So, he sighed, lifting broad shoulders in a shrug. "They weren't at the University when we got there. It looked like they'd moved out quite some time ago. Left a lot of shit though. Solar panels, lights, shit like that. Must've left in a hurry, but we found a tape recorder and it said they'd got to Salt Lake City so we met up with them there." Hands across his chest, Joel sighed and shook his head. "They stopped looking for a cure. Turns out, there were more than just Ellie. Dozens, even. None of them were working out. They gave up on trying anything else." They fell silent and Joel was sure his little brother had caught his lie, but instead, Tommy grasped his shoulder and gave a firm shake.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I am. She must've been devastated." His reply was a stiff nod. "But you two have a home here, you know that. So let's get you guys set up in a place, sound good? We've got electricity running through every home now, you'd be shocked at how far we've come in such a short time. I think I told you we were over twenty families strong last time, but you'll never believe how many we've got now." Joel lifted a brow curiously. "Over fifty now," Tommy answered with a proud nod. "Maria and her father have built a miracle, that's for sure."

That definitely had Joel's interested peeked. "What about children? How many of them have you got?"

Tommy shrugged. "There's not a whole lot, maybe fifteen in total. But there's about three or four around Ellie's age," he explained, knowing exactly where Joel's thoughts had traveled. "She's gonna find a place for herself here. So are you."

Joel didn't have the words to express how thankfully he was for everything Tommy was offering. He knew that the fight they'd had years ago was a bad one, but he'd never expected it to last as many years as it had. And then when he'd run off to join the Fireflies, the riff had only grown large, their ideas and opinions clashing more often than was good. It had eventually destroyed their brotherhood, that along with memories of their years surviving hadn't done anything good for their relationship. Joel could still remember the anger they'd felt, how things had gotten out of hand so quickly. They'd exchanged heated words, both had gotten in a good handful of punches in before they went their separate ways. Honestly, Joel had never expected to see his baby brother alive again. If it wasn't obvious, he'd been glad to be proven wrong.

"Listen, Tommy I'm so-"

Before Joel could continue, the younger sibling held up a hand to stop him from going any further. There was nothing to be sorry for anymore. "Brother, we both said and did a lot of things that neither of us are proud of. I know you had the best of intentions when it came to us surviving and I know the decisions you made weren't easy. I forgave you a long time ago." A moment of silence passed between the two, any of the tension that had been left over seemed to completely melt away. The two hugged then, arms wrapped around one another tightly. It felt like a new beginning for not only them as brothers, but for their lives. Pulling back, Tommy beamed at Joel, "Welcome home, big brother."

* * *

**AN: The length of each chapter is likely to be different, so please do not leave comments such as 'chapters should be longer'. The length is exactly where I want it to be and will not change. Regardless, I do hope you enjoy and I would to hear other feedback on the writing itself and what you think of the direction in which I'm going, even though this is only the first chapter. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

The moment Ellie entered the cafeteria with Maria, she could see the changes that had taken place since her last visit. There had to be another forty tables set out with more people lined up for their meals than she remembered even seeing. Ellie could tell only by the scents that lingered in the air that there were so many more choices food choices than there had been previously. The last time she'd been there, they'd had chicken and water. Not that she hadn't appreciated what was offered, only that it was a blander choice than what they had now. Her stomach growled out her excitement. Glancing at Maria, she smiled sheepishly, "Sorry. Joel and I were running low on supplies and had to ration our food."

The blonde shook her head, wrapping a comforting arm around the young woman. "Don't worry about it. We'll get you filled up here, I'll introduce you to some of the families and then we'll go harass the boys so we can get you into a place of your own. Sound good?" Ellie nodded. "Alright, then let's get in line. Today our cook Donna has something special cooked up, from what I hear."

Together they approached the lunch line and Maria grabbed both of them trays. "Oh man, is that corn?" Ellie asked, pressing her hands against the glass that separated her from the food. "I haven't had corn since we left Boston." Another grumble erupted from her belly. "Can I get some of that?" She asked, lifting her tray.

The woman behind the counter gave a sharp nod and scooped up a large spoonful, "You better believe you can, sweetie." She looked to be in her early forties with dark blonde hair that was held back by a long braid down her back. It was her smile that really caught the eye. Something about it held such youth, it made her seem younger. "It's my absolute favorite," she explained, shooting a wink at Maria. "Told you I had a surprise."

Laughing, Maria lifted her tray for some as well. "Ellie, this here is Donna, our resident cook and the only woman I've ever been in love with." The two women shared a bout of laughter, their friendship more than apparent. Looking back to Donna, Maria nodded at Ellie. "This is Ellie. She's been traveling with Tommy's older brother, Joel. They've finally made our way back to us."

"Ooh, so this is the girl who took my horse for a joyride, huh?" Her laughter was contagious and Ellie couldn't help but join in. "Well, you're just lucky you gave him back to Tommy, or I'd have come after you myself," she teased. Her gaze moved to the people behind the two before she smiled at them again, "You two get moving, I got a long line here to feed and if I get caught chit chatting again, I'll never get through them all." Green eyes traveled to Ellie, "You and I will have to talk again. Maybe ride some horses? I heard you rode well and it's about time I beat someone besides Maria."

"Prepare to have your butt kicked, lady," Ellie said. "Cause I can ride like a champ." It felt good to joke around again. It made her feel better, she realized as she brought her tray back down. As Donna laughed again, Maria and Ellie scooted down the line to look at the other selections. After Ellie fixed herself up with some mashed potatoes, a slice of bread and what she was told was 'jello', her and Maria sat themselves down at a table not too far from the door they'd come in through.

Not waiting for permission, Ellie dug into her food. The flavors exploded in her mouth, tasting ten times better than any of the food her and Joel had been surviving on. She couldn't help the satisfied moan that left her lips as she forced a second spoonful of mashed potatoes in her mouth, not even completely finished with the first one. "This stuff 's delicious," she said over the mouthful to Maria. "Donna cooks all this? Holy fuck, she knows what's she's doing."

Chewing on her own slice of bread, Maria nodded. "Tell me about it. I'm so glad she decided to make this place her home, cause I would've been devastated to have lost her."

Looking up from the jello she was poking at, Ellie raised a scarred brow, "What do you mean? She was gonna leave?"

Maria nodded. "Yeah, she actually showed up about two months before you and Joel did the first time around. All she wanted was a place to stay for a bit before she headed out. It was actually about a week ago that she said she was gonna make this her permanent home. And let me tell you, everyone here is thankful for that. We had Tomas over there," she nodded towards the man who was helping serve food, "cooking for us. And while he tried, his food never measured up to Donna's. But needless to say, he's just as thankful to have her."

"That's pretty cool," Ellie said.

The two of them sat in silence and Ellie could easily read the curiosity in Maria's subtle looks. Ellie couldn't blame the woman, either. They'd left with the hope of a cure, and come back with no words on the subject. It would be impossible not to wonder. "You can ask, you know."

Maria chuckled, "Was I that obvious?" Ellie gave her a look and she smiled. "Yeah, should've figured. But you're right, I do want to ask. What happened?"

Another lull of quiet fell over them, the only noise was that chatter of the families at the surrounding tables. Ellie began poking at her green jello again, eyes downcast. "Well, we were on our way to the University, like Tommy told us. But, the Fireflies weren't there and we found a recording of where they'd move so we started off that way." There was a moment where she debated telling Maria about Joel's accident, about the cannibals, but she didn't. "They'd apparently moved to Salt Lake City so we went there. When we got there, Joel and I were crossing this thing of water, but he fell and got trapped in a bus that went under. I can't remember much, but I remember jumping on the bus and trying to get him out. Which was pretty damn stupid seeing as I can't swim." She forced a chuckle. "Then, I blacked out. Joel said the bus caught on something and I fell in and got knocked unconscious." She went back to prodding the jello. "When I woke back up, I was in the back of a car. Joel said we found the Fireflies but that there had been a bunch more people like me. He said they stopped looking for a cure."

Something about the story bothered Maria because she could sense that there was more Ellie wasn't letting on to. Half tempted to dig for more information, she could see that Ellie had been through too much for someone her age. If she wanted to share with Maria, she would. "I'm sorry. That must've been hard for both of you." Reaching across the table, she gripped the young girl's hand tightly and gave a comforting smile. "I can tell you're bothered by it all, and I can't imagine the struggles you've endured. But if you wanna talk about, I'm here. And so is Tommy."

Sighing, Ellie looked up at the other woman and nodded. While Maria's words were comforting to hear and meant a lot to her, she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to talk about it. Some things were just too hard. "Thanks," she muttered, looking back to the remains of her food. There was a feeling of guilt that laid on her shoulders. Maybe she wasn't being fair to Maria. But it was all still hard on her, all too fresh. Talking about any of it felt like prodding at an open wound and then rubbing dirt in it for good measure.

Just as she was about to apologize for her mopey attitude, the doors to the cafeteria opened and Joel emerged from the other side. Right beside him, Tommy walked. Their eyes looked around the room for only a moment before landing at Maria and Ellie. Ellie could see the way Joel's body relaxed as their eyes met. He gave her a small smile as the brother's made their way over.

"Hey there. Looks like you're eating well," Joel commenting, taking the seat next to her. "You haven't touched your jello yet."

Ellie looked to the jiggling..._thing_ again. "What is it?"

"You got what it was but you don't know what it is?" He asked, looking at her.

She didn't even try not to roll her eyes. "No Joel, I know exactly what it is but I'm asking you for shits and giggles."

Joel snorted, "Well, it's...It's like this powder mixed with water and then stirred."

"Sounds shitty."

"Well if you're not gonna eat it..." He grabbed her tray and pulled it towards himself.

Ellie's hand shot out, pulling it back in front of her. "Hey now, I didn't say that." She quickly retrieved her spoon as well and hurriedly spoon the jello passed her lips.

Across the table, Maria and Tommy watched the encounter, unable to keep the amused expressions off their faces. Tommy's eyes stayed more so on his brother, watching the relaxed way in which Joel was able to interact with Ellie. They'd created a strong bond, if their banter was anything to go off of. But it was more than just a friendship. They'd come to rely on one another, had survived because of each other and for each other. He wasn't going to press the issue, but Tommy was more than convinced that the two of them had created a father-daughter tie with one another. And it appeared to be just what Joel had needed. The smile on Joel's face was something Tommy hadn't expected to ever see again. It had been twenty long years since he'd seen it.

He hated to break up their silly banter, but he wanted to get them settled as quickly as possible. "Alright you two," he began, leaning his elbows on the table. "Ya'll ready to get a place of your own? We've got three houses ready as of now that you can choose from. Want to go get one picked out?"

Joel looked to Ellie. "You up for it now?" He asked.

Before she answered, she wolfed down the rest of the jello - mostly so Joel didn't attempt to steal anymore. "Might as well. Not like we got anything else to do."

"Right. Well, Maria why don't you go rest up for a bit, huh? Maybe do the paperwork for them," Tommy suggested as the couple stood. "I can handle getting 'em into a place."

Maria smiled, "Good idea. Ellie, Joel, it's great to have you both back. We'll talk more tomorrow." A protective hand laid over her belly as she bid them goodbye and headed to her own place.

"Alright," Tommy said. "Let's get going."


End file.
